Youthful Canes begin the season in Finland

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The Carolina Hurricanes didn?t make any flashy free-agent signings this offseason. Didn?t lock up any aging holdovers with long-term contracts, either.

The focus in the Hurricanes? front office instead seemed to be on getting younger.

One of the NHL?s oldest teams in recent seasons suddenly qualifies as one of its youngest. With only four players who will be in their 30s this season, Carolina is hoping its influx of younger players ? including some in leadership roles ? will provide enough of a spark to carry them through the grind of an 82-game season, starting today in the opener against Minnesota in Helsinki, Finland.

?I know we have a young group, and that?s something we have to look at and concentrate on growing each game,? defenseman Tim Gleason said. ?The energy?s going to be up for sure, and at the same time, I think guys are going to be ready to play.?

The dressing room can?t help but skew younger, with the departures of two alternate captains and elder statesmen: 40-year-old center Rod Brind?Amour, who retired, and 38-year-old wing Ray Whitney, who left via free agency.

With them gone, the team awarded the ?A?? to 21-year-old forward Brandon Sutter and the 27-year-old Gleason. They?ll join 25-year-old captain Eric Staal to form one of the youngest leadership trios in the NHL.

?It makes it a little bit more unique, because there are a lot of younger faces, some newer guys,? Staal said. ?At this stage, you need to just try and get to know everybody, get to know the younger guys. ... There are some guys that have played here for a while and played a lot of games. They?re excited for the start, as am I.

?There?s still a great core group of guys and some young guys that can really play. It?s going to be competitive, and we?re going to be a tough team to play against.?

If they aren?t, it could be another long winter for a franchise that has made the playoffs only once since winning its lone Stanley Cup in 2006.

The Hurricanes had only one 30-goal scorer last season, forward Jussi Jokinen. Their season was all but doomed midway through the year when, after starting 3-12-5, they endured a club-record 14-game winless streak and spent a few weeks as the worst team in the league. During that stretch, just about every key player wound up missing time on the injured list, including Staal and goalie Cam Ward.

Once everybody was healthy again, they were one of the league?s strongest teams ? Carolina finished 20-9-3 in its last 32 games ? but by then, the goal of returning to the playoffs had long since escaped them.

The biggest free-agent signing wound up being defenseman Joe Corvo, a valuable puck-mover on the power play who was traded at the deadline to division rival Washington but says he always felt most comfortable in a Hurricanes sweater.

Other acquisitions include defenseman Anton Babchuk, who?s in his third stint with Carolina after playing last season in Russia, and center Patrick O?Sullivan, a former 20-goal scorer with Los Angeles who grew up in Winston-Salem.

One player to keep an eye on is forward Jeff Skinner, the Hurricanes? 18-year-old first-round pick in June who scored 50 goals for his junior team last season and played well enough this preseason to claim one of the 24 spots on Carolina?s roster for the trip to Europe. He and Sutter appear to be two up-and-coming stars on a team that already has locked up both Staal and Ward through the 2015-16 season.

With so much youth, it may be too much to expect the Hurricanes to contend in a Southeast Division dominated by Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals. And the schedule-makers did them no favors ? they follow their European excursion with a western swing through Canada, California and Arizona, and they don?t play at home for another three weeks.

Then again, Carolina always seems to be at its best when it?s overlooked.

?It?s a big transition for a lot of us, turning into veterans a little bit earlier than you?d like,? 28-year-old forward Chad LaRose said with a laugh. ?But it?s going to be good. A lot of young talent. We saw that last year, at the end of the year, and we?ll continue to see it this season.?

 

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Five questions for the 'Canes


Q: Can the Canes survive the start?

The early schedule is brutal, with the first two games in Finland, followed by a five-game road trip once back in North America. And the first two home games are against Washington and Pittsburgh in late October.

A year ago, the Canes were 2-12-4 in their first 18 games and never fully recovered. Said team owner Peter Karmanos Jr., "We'll have a better start this year. That won't be hard."

Q: Will Cam Ward's back hold up?

The Canes' star goaltender has had back issues the last two seasons. Ward says the back feels strong and that he will maintain an exercise program during the season. Still, it's hard to imagine him pushing 70 games again in a regular season, as he did in the '08 and '09 seasons.

Q: Will Jeff Skinner be around all season?

Carolina's first-round draft pick this year appears to have the skill, temperament and conditioning to stick with the team as an 18-year-old rookie. The Canes must either keep the forward on the roster or return him to his junior team for the regular season. Odds are, he'll be wearing No. 53 in a Canes sweater for some time.

Q: Can the Canes win on the cheap?

Carolina will have one of the NHL's lowest payrolls and one of the youngest teams. Said Karmanos: "We need some good luck and to avoid freakish injuries. But we have a defense that can move the puck and help offensively. We have an outstanding set of forwards and one of the best goalies in the league. I think it will be a competitive team and one that's fun to watch."

Q: Are the Canes tough enough?

The Canes are not a big, physical team, notably on the back end. Gone are such bruisers as Aaron Ward and Nic Wallin. But coach Paul Maurice believes his defensemen will handle the puck better in the defensive zone, and Tim Gleason, Joni Pitkanen, Joe Corvo, Anton Babchuk, Jamie McBain and Jay Harrison give his team a good blend of strength and quickness, even if there isn't a real heavyweight.

 

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The heat is on in Helsinki for Wild


The fate of Wild coach Todd Richards is tied to a team that must make quick improvement.


The "X" stamped onto all of the Wild's jerseys and at center ice at Xcel Energy Center seems more like a bull's-eye than a 10th anniversary signature.

Never, in its decade-long history has this organization been so under stress.

Even opening the 2010-11 season Thursday night 4,600 miles from home doesn't seem far enough to hide that this franchise, so successful relative to past NHL expansion franchises, is at a crossroads.

The Wild has missed the playoffs two years in a row and hasn't been past the first round since 2003. There's talent, such as relentless Mikko Koivu and charismatic Brent Burns, and more depth with the additions of Matt Cullen, Eric Nystrom and John Madden, yet the team lacks an electrifying superstar. And for the first time, the Wild, spending nearly $60 million on payroll, is working tirelessly to fill its arena.

This has put immense pressure on everybody, particularly second-year coach Todd Richards. It will be his task to end the postseason drought because the expectation from the team's owner is as blunt as a punch to the gut.

"Nobody in our front office thinks we're a team that's not going to make the playoffs. Period," Craig Leipold said.

Last season's slow start -- 3-9, and 0-8 on the road -- arguably destroyed the Wild's playoff hopes. With eight of its first 10 games at home after the Wild returns from Finland, it's hard to believe Leipold will let a slow start obliterate another year.

As much as Leipold and GM Chuck Fletcher believe in Richards, it's conceivable a slow start would signal the end of his first NHL coaching job.

"It could. It could happen," Richards said. "It is a thought on my mind without a question. But that's out of my control.

"I mean, really all I can try to control is what's happening on the ice. And I have to do the job the best that I can and do what I think is right."[Former Milwaukee Admirals coach] Claude Noel told me a long time ago, 'The one thing you can truly appreciate is peace of mind.' For me, peace of mind is living your life the right way, but it's also doing your work the right way. I can honestly say that I believe we're doing all the right things, so I'll just focus on what I can control."

Fletcher keeps his short- (and long-term) focus

Mario Tremblay, passed over to be the Wild's next coach after Jacques Lemaire resigned, is doing a radio show in Montreal. The former Wild assistant made headlines last week when he hammered away at Richards, saying on the air he hopes Richards "realizes his days are numbered."

He predicted that Michel Therrien, the former Canadiens and Penguins coach who's now doing part-time scouting for the Wild, would replace Richards early in the season.

Now, let's make clear, these are opinions of an ex-employee. And Therrien, because he's a Lemaire disciple, is unlikely to be the next Wild coach.

But Tremblay's larger point is that things are heating up for the Wild, which for the first time in franchise history is struggling to sell tickets. If the team falters, Richards might not be afforded the latitude to turn it around when there are coaches out there like, say, Ken Hitchcock, who's won 533 regular-season games and a Stanley Cup.

Last October, after a 0-5 road trip, Fletcher tried to shake things up by acquiring Chuck Kobasew. This season, with little salary cap flexibility, a player shakeup so early might be impossible.

Fletcher has managed the Wild for only about 16 months, but he understands the fan base is clamoring for a playoff run.

Normally, even after missing the playoffs, the summer break allows a team and its fans to reenergize. But heading into training camp, tension was evident. Whenever Fletcher was asked about Richards' long-term job security, he avoided the subject, turning the conversation to the long-term goal here.

 

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Wild gameday



Preview: After a rocky training camp but a fun bonding trip overseas, the 2010-11 season kicks off in Finland. The Wild is 5-3-1 all-time in season openers.

Players to watch: All the Finns. C Mikko Koivu and RW Antti Miettinen make up two-thirds of the first line, while G Niklas Backstrom, who has been terrific his past four starts, gets the nod. He'll face one of his closest friends, Carolina's Jussi Jokinen, Joni Pitkanen and one of Koivu's best friends, Tuomo Ruutu. LW Guillaume Latendresse, who has been hampered by a groin injury, is expected to play and will skate on the fourth line. He scored 25 goals for the Wild last season but has had a scanty training camp.

Injuries: Wild D Marek Zidlicky (groin) is questionable and G Josh Harding (knee), C James Sheppard (knee) and RW Pierre-Marc Bouchard (post-concussion syndrome) are out. ... Hurricanes LW Sergei Samsonov (neck) is out.

 

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Oct 6, 10:46 AM - Minnesota

Todd Richards said he's "99 percent sure" that Martin Havlat (groin) will play in Thursday's season opener, but he's concerned about Guillaume Latendresse (hip flexor). If Havlat plays, he'll likely return to the right of Matt Cullen. The coach is leaning toward keeping Cal Clutterbuck on the left side of Cullen...The Wild placed forward Matt Kassian and defenseman Drew Bagnall on waivers Tuesday...Backup goalie Jose Theodore is expected to join the team when it returns to Minnesota. - Star Tribune